RECIPE SWAP: SUMMER CAN BE FULL OF ADVENTURE AND GOOD FOOD

This summer has been such a great time for our family. Each day has brought a whole new set adventures. Two of their favorites have been the creek right behind our house and T-ball.

The creek has crawfish in it and the kids love playing in the mud looking for scurrying crawfish. They have made hundreds of mud recipes with their friends Robert and Elaine. Everything from mud soup to yes, you guessed it, mud pies. When they come home they are so dirty and have a huge smile plastered on their faces under the mud. What a great opportunity to build childhood memories.

Our other great adventure this summer has been T-ball. This is our first year at playing and it was so much fun. There was no score keeping and we found ourselves cheering for both teams. Bob Siebert worked with the boys and helped them grow in skill as the summer moved along. It all paid off when last Tuesday evening we played our last game of the season and Ross hit a home run. You would have thought he was the winning run in a World Series game the way we cheered him on. Life is so good.

We have a recipe shared by a Cape Girardeau cook that uses delicious black cherries.

Black Cherry and Almond Aspic

1 tablespoon gelatin soaked in 2 tablespoons water

Dissolve in: 1 cup of a combination of boiling water and fruit juice, according to your taste. Cool. When about set add:

1 1/4 cup pitted black cherries

1/3 cup blanched almonds, shredded

Place in a wet mold. Chill until firm. Unmold and serve topped with mayonnaise.

My sister Barb gave me a small package of red lentils some time ago and I needed to use them up. So I asked my friend Joan if she had a soup recipe I could have and of course she did. This soup is very good.

Red Lentil Soup

1 cup red lentils, rinsed

5 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 to 3 tablespoons celery leaves, chopped

1 teaspoon curry powder, or to taste

8 ounces sour cream

4 to 6 tablespoons soft margarine

2 to 3 tart apples, cored and chopped

Simmer lentils, onion, and celery leaves in broth for 20 to 30 minutes. Stir in curry powder and sour cream. Reheat. To serve, top bowls of soup with a small dot of margarine and surround margarine with chopped apples.

Our friends from Altenburg, Mo., have been pretty quiet this summer. But one of them has a cake recipe she would like for you to be able to enjoy, too.

Maple Chiffon Cake

2 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup salad oil

1 teaspoon maple flavoring

6 egg yolks

1 cup ground pecans

1 cup egg whites

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the icing: 1 (1 pound) box powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 stick of real butter, browned in a skillet

Milk, enough to make spreading consistency

1 cup finely ground pecans

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the middle, and add water, oil, maple flavoring, and egg yolks. Mix well. Add 1 cup ground pecans and stir in and set aside. In another clean large bowl combine the 1 cup egg whites and cream of tartar. Beat until they form very stiff peaks. Then very gently fold in the batter mixture until evenly blended, being careful not to stir, but to fold. Pour into a large dry tube pan and bake in 300-degree oven for 15 minutes. Increase the temperature to 325 degrees and bake an additional 30 minutes. Then increase the temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 15 minutes, until done. Remove from oven and turn pan upside-down, not touching the center, until completely cold. Remove from pan. Prepare icing by blending the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and browned butter. After well combined, add small amounts of milk to make a good spreading consistency. Stir in ground pecans and ice cooled cake.

A couple of weeks ago there was a request for fried cabbage from Sherry Hoernig of Benton, Mo. There were several who replied so will share a couple with you today.

Fried Cabbage

1 large head cabbage

2 or 3 large onions

1/2 stick butter or margarine

Cut cabbage into quarters, remove the core and slice each quarter thinly into long slices. Cut onions in half and thinly slice. Melt the butter in a large skillet, add the onions and cabbage, turn the heat to medium. "Fry," turning frequently until cabbage is browned and tender to your likeness.

Just remember when you start this will fill a large skillet, but as it wilts during frying it will reduce down about 1/2 amount you started with. You may need to keep this in mind when planning proportions to fix for a family or for guests.

This recipe came from a Jackson, Mo., person who also enjoys fried cabbage but this recipe is different because of the addition of eggs.

The Best Fried Cabbage

1 large head cabbage

1 large yellow onion

1 cup diced, cooked bacon

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 beaten eggs

Par-boil cabbage slightly and drain well. Very lightly cover the bottom of a skillet with olive oil. Add onions, garlic, bacon and chopped cabbage and fry until cabbage is done to your likeness. Add beaten eggs and blend in.

Fry until cabbage and mixture is like a brown pie. Place a large plate on top of the pan and invert over; it will slide out in one piece. Salt and pepper to taste.

Again we have yet another version using cherry tomatoes. This recipe came in from Cape Girardeau.

Summertime Fried Cabbage

1 large head cabbage

1 onion

1 teaspoon vinegar

Cherry tomatoes

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

4 slices bacon

Cayenne pepper, to taste

Cook bacon until crisp; drain on paper towel. In the same skillet, put chopped cabbage, onion and salt with bacon drippings. Cover and cook slow for 15 minutes. Add sugar, cayenne pepper and vinegar. Slice cherry tomatoes in quarters and place on top. Simmer for 5 minutes.

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We have two requests this week. The first comes from Margie Loennecke of Jackson. She is looking for a red eye gravy recipe. She saw one in the paper a couple of months ago and now, like many of us would like to have the recipe but can't find it. Does anyone recall the recipe from the paper or have a favorite to share? The next request was an anonymous call and she is looking for a salsa recipe that was in the newspaper seven or eight years ago and now can't find it. She would love to have a salsa recipe that does include cilantro but does not include vinegar as an ingredient and can be canned. Surely someone can help with this request.

That will end up another week of recipe swapping. Enjoy this last week of summer vacation before school starts and happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Senior Center. Send recipes to her by e-mail at smcclanahan@semissourian.com or write Recipe Swap, c/o Southeast Missourian at P.O. Box 699; Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63702-0699. Recipes published are not kitchen-tested by the Southeast Missourian staff.